Poultry-brooder.



R. A. RUFF.

POULTRY BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1,1911.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

2 SHEETS- SHEET 1- INVENTOR, b Tea/60nd WATTO/M'EY.

R. A. RUFR POULTRY. BRDODEE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 1, I911.

Patented 065122911.

2 SHEETS-*SHEET 2v INVEALTOR, 71 6506670 2 ily};

#YTUR/VEY.

WITNESSES onion.

REUBEN A. RUFE, OF I-IALEDON, NEW JERSEY.

POULTRY-BROODER.

mosses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

Application filed March 1, 1911. Serial No. 611,647.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that. I, REUBEN A. Burma citizen of. the United States, residing at -Haledon, iii-the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Poultry-Brood- -ers, of which the following is a specification.

1 My invention relates to poultry brooding applianccsand it consists in certain, 1m-

proveanents therein havingfor their object to prov de 111- a simple, durable, sanitary and inexpensive structure a combined screened inclosure and housing which may be'readily assembled and disassembled and to which at all times access may be conv'enientlyhad for any of the purposes involving'the care of the young chicks.

In the accompanying drawings my invention Will be found fully illustrated, Figure 1 being a perspective view; FigLQ a view V the screws or other headed devices 9 corresponding to and adapted to enter and interin side elevation, portions: appearing in section; Fig. 3 an end elevation of the housing from the side thereof oining the screened inc'losure, which is removed; Fig. 4 a vertical sectional view through said housing; Fig. 5 a View of the housing similar to that shown in Fig. 3 except that a certain partition is removed; Fig. 6 a perspective view,

of a grating for the housing; and Fig. 7 a perspective view of a removable slide forming the bottom of the housing.

The screened inclosure a and housing Z) are each formed in sections, so that they may be readily taken apart andpacked in small compass and as readily assembled, and then all united to a common partition or'wall 0 so as to form a unitary structure. The parts a, b, and 0 are shown assembled in Figs. 1 and 2.

The wall 0 comprises three (more or less) sections a 0 arranged edge to edge and held together on one side by the bat-tens (Z, 0 and f, the section 0 being shorter than the other two sections and therefore forming an opening or passage 9 which may be closed by one or two slides 71. running 111 rabbets e, f'iin the two battens e and On the opposite side of the partition 0, centrally and near the top thereof, is secured a ledge i having a horizontal top surface 2" and an inclined surface 71 on each side thereof, PIES j projecting upwardly from the horizontal surface; the purpose of these pins will appear later.

All of the battens (Z, e and f terminate short of the side edges of the wall-0 in the same vertical lines, and to the correspondmg face of said wall between each'sideedge thereof and the vertical line in which are disposed the adjoining ends of the battens are screwed key-hole socket-s k, one above the other; on the opposite face of the wall 0 are secured, 'relatively'outside of the vertical line occupied by each end of the ledges, a pairof other key-hole sockets Z, one above the other.

Turning, now, to the screened inclosure, m, m are rectangular side frames and n a rectangular end frame, the said frames being provided with screening 0. The end frame n in the assembled relation of the brooder stands parallel with the partition or wall a and, in opposite relation to each pair of socketsk on the wall 0, said end frame m has several key-hole sockets 79. Each of the side frames m has at each end thereof lockwitll the key-hole sockets in of the parti 1 tion 6 and the sockets p of the end frame a,-

the entire structure when assembled being reinforced by v thesaid frames abutting againstthe ends of the battens d, e and f on the partition 0.

Surmounting the side frames m and end frame 91 1s a cover comprising a fixed sec- .-tion 7" and a pivoted section 1", the latter being connected with the former by the hinges or butts 8. Each of the sections '1', 1" consists of a rectangular frame provided with screening t. On the under side of the frame 1' are secured the key-hole sockets u, the same receiving screws or other headed devices '0 on the tops of the frames m, m.

When the cover has been fitted to the side and end frames on and 72, its pivoted section or frame 7', vwhen horizontal, snugly'abuts against the batten d and thus insures the parts being held together; for the cover may only be detached from the screws u'by sliding it toward wall 0, and so long as it is interlocked with the walls at the walls m and n cannot be separated because wall a is prevented at that time from being raised to effect its release (the only way in which it can be released) from the walls m.

It will be understood that the purpose of pivoting the section or frame r" is to allow acce'ss'to the inclosure a.

" Describing, now, the housing I), the end' wall thereof consists of sections of wood w secured together along their side edges by fiat strips w whose inner edges 102 project out of the plane of the inner faces of said sections, forming flanges. (Figs. 1 and 2.) The said end wall to has a flat top surface a: and two beveled surfaces 00, the same corresponding to the surface 6' and i'-of the ledge i; y designates pins projecting upwardly from the surface a; and corresponding to the pins 7'.

e, 2 designate key-hole sockets corresponding to the several sockets Z on the partition c.

The sides of the housing consist of sections of wood 2, 2, secured together by upper and lower battens 3, 3, the latter being channeled at 4. Both of the vertical edges of the sides referred to are provided with screws or other headed devices 5 and 6 adapted respectively to be received by the key-hole sockets Z and 2 and so hold the sides, the wall 0 and the end wall in assembled relation, the side walls being over lapped by the flanges w as shown in Figs.

1 and 2.

Resting on the surfaces 2" and m of the ledge and end wall of the housing and doweled thereto are the ends of a strip 7,

the dowel-joints being afforded by holes 7 and 7 to receive the pins j and. y, and to secure the strip down in position, I provide clips 8 pivoted tothe under side thereof and each having one end adapted to enter a notch 9 in the ledge i and end wall of the housing. To each lateral edge of the strip 7 is hinged a lid or wing 9' which rests uponthe surface :0 and i and therefore closes the opening afforded in the top of the housing at each side of the strip 7 g each lid 9 may be swung up to thedotted line position in Fig. 5 to allow ventilation or to have access to the interior of the housing. To keep out moisture, the roof formed by the parts 7 and 9 may be covered by a piece of flexible waterproof material 10, each of the wings 9 having a groove 11 which will intercept the water draining from said roof'and prevent it entering the housing adjacent the wall 0.

12 is a grating resting on the upper battens 3 to prevent the chicks from escaping and predatory birds or animals from having access to them while allowing ventilation, and 13 is aremovable slide or false bottom having a handle 14 and the U-shaped runners 15, said slide being'supported by the lower battens 3 and its runners 15 being received by the channels 4, 16 designating buttons to keep the slide 13 from being withdrawn.

The grating, being a rigid. member and fitting fairly snugly between the side walls,

accesses as well as between the end wall and partition, imparts rigidity to the wallstructure of the housing so that in shifting the brooder about from place to place undue strain is not imposed on the joints between the parts thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by'Letters Patent is 1. In combination; with a vertical partition, an end-frame arranged parallel with said partition, key-hole sockets in the adjoining faces of said partition and endframe and each having its wider portion at its upper end, side-frames arranged between said partition and end-frame and each having headed devices entering said sockets and separably interlocking the partition, endframe and side-frames, and each also having headed devices on its upper edge, and a cover comprising a fixed section resting-on said upper edges of the side-frames, overlapping the end-frame and having key-hole sockets on its under side receiving the headed devices onsaid upper edges of the sideframes and each having its wider portion at the end thereof adjoining the end-frame,

said coveralso comprising'a hinged section resting uponsaid upper edges of the sideframes and fitted snugly between the hinged section and the partition, substantially as described.

2. in combination, with a surrounding wall-structure comprising a vertical partition, an end-wall arranged parallel thereto, parallel side-walls arranged between the partition and end-wall, and means for separably interlocking each side wall to the partition and end-wall, a relatively narrow intermediate strip surmounting the end wall and partition and having a dowel-connection with each of them, wingspivoted to the longitudinal edges of said strip and coacting therewith to cover the space formed by said partition and end-wall and sidewalls, clips pivoted on the under side of the strip, said partition and end-wall having recesses to receive said clips and coact there with in separably interlocking the strip with said end-wall and partition, and a removable rigid member inclosed in and supported by said wall-structure and fitting the space thereof and thereby holding the partition, end wall and side-walls in fixed relation to each other, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- REUBEN A. RUFF.

Jitnesses JoI-IN Vi. Srnwann, VIM. D. BELL. 

